AN ACTION initiative staged by Devon and Cornwall Police successfully kept disturances to a minimum over the week of Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night celebrations, according to Tavistock Police.

Operation Everest is a day of action that takes place twice a year, but this year the autumn event was spread out over a week to incorporate both celebrations.

The focus was on anti-social behaviour, and other activities also took place in the area.

Working with one of the housing associations that have properties in the town, officers signed a number of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) — an agreement between residents, the police and the association, which are usually introduced after several incidents of anti-social behaviour have occurred.

ABCs signed six months ago in another part of the town have led to a sharp drop in the number of incidents reported.

The contracts can be used as evidence to apply for an ASBO (Anti Social Behaviour Order) if the parties signing them fail to behave as agreed.

In the outlying villages PC Julian Fry, the youth interventions officer for West Devon, teamed up with a colleague from the local Youth Inclusion and Support Panel, to speak to young people on the streets and in youth clubs.

At the same time other officers were walking the beat on housing estates around the villages and in Tavistock to keep an eye on the celebrations.

Leader of the neighbourhood policing team, Sgt Dave Anning, said: 'There were really large numbers of young children out for Hallowe'en, but they were superbly supervised by parents and carers.

'Many of the children were dressed up and the shops must have done a roaring trade going by the number of sweets being handed out. It was very much a family atmosphere and by 8.30pm virtually all the "trick or treating" was done.

'The Tenants' and Residents' Association on the Tiddybrook estate organised a great afternoon for the local kids and raised more than £100 towards local facilities.

'The only silliness was the spraying of some tomato sauce over cars in Horrabridge, but the owners were contacted and the sauce was wiped off.'

During the week, officers joined forces with other organisations to patrol rural car parks on Dartmoor. This year, following a number of reports of thefts of sheep, they also stopped and checked vehicles carrying livestock or capable of doing so.

Officers from the Automatic Number Plate Recognition department at Launceston and the Traffic Department at Plympton were allocated to assist with checking traffic on the moor and around the town and villages.

Other activity included the execution of a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act, where an address at Dousland was raided and what appeared to be a small indoor cannabis farm was removed.

Sgt Anning said: 'Overall there was a significant reduction in the number of reports of anti-social behaviour over previous years and indeed a big reduction in reported crime.'